Conversation with Research Student Representative – Liz Lee

Elizabeth (Liz) Lee was recently in Melbourne and our eLearning Facilitator, Adrian Jackson sat down for a chat about her story and research. Liz is undertaking a PhD through Pilgrim and the University of Divinity and is the HDR student representative on the College Academic Committee.

Liz is a recipient of the Janette Gray Scholarship.

Adrian: Hi Liz, can you tell us a little about yourself and how you came to pursue your PhD project?

Liz: I am married, with 3 children and 4 grandchildren. I have had a varied career: food technology, medical microbiology, health promotion and teaching; I moved into spiritual care, working for a time in homelessness support and as a prison chaplain. I am now a Spiritual Director and Pastoral Supervisor. For 59 years, I identified as Catholic but after seven years of ministry I joined Pitt St Uniting Church (Sydney) in 2019.

Adrian: You’re currently working on a PhD supervised by Lorna Hallahan (formerly Flinders. Now ACAP University College and St Barnabas), Liz Boase (University of Divinity) and Cath McKinney (University of Divinity). What’s your project about?

Liz: My project responds to a pastoral concern: how can a faith community apply a trauma sensitive lens to the churches practice of hospitality in its liturgy, pastoral care and administration. In order to hear the community’s voice I’ve developed a methodology approach—“a contemplative participatory theological inquiry” which has involved 11 participants from my congregation. My work is seeking to address both a methodological gap, practice/knowledge gap and a theory/theological gap in trauma-sensitive ecclesial practice.

Adrian: That sounds like important and necessary work that will be a great gift to the church. What brought you to doing this project at Pilgrim?

Liz: I’ve always wanted to do research work and in the 80s I was about 3 years into a PhD in microbiology when personal tragedy, a miscarriage, so I gave the research away. Then in 2021, I was at a conference where Cathie Lambert spoke of her PhD and something stirred in me. Our community was struggling with the pastoral issues I described earlier. As I reached out to a few providers about where I could undertake the project, Jo Inkpin and Penny Jones – who were on the ministry team at Pitt St and also Associate Teachers at Pilgrim – encouraged me to reach out to Pilgrim. Katharine Massam (former Research Coordinator at Pilgrim) was really encouraging.

Adrian: And you started out with a Graduate Certificate in Research Methodology right?

Liz: Yes, Katharine Massam and Cathie Lambert (Dayspring, Uniting College for Leadership and Theology) supervised my minor thesis which was A Trauma-sensitive Reimagining of ‘A Theological Statement’ for the National Person of Concern Policy Framework, 2020. This brought a feminist trauma theory lens to the Uniting Church’s theological framework and elements of that thesis have been published as an article in Uniting Church Studies (Vol 25, No 1). Liz Boase (School of Graduate Research) then introduced me to Lorna Hallahan and Cath McKinney, and all three are supervising my PhD.

Adrian: How has your experience at Pilgrim been?

Liz: Being based in Sydney as a research student means I’m often feel a little disconnected from the life of the college but having access to Maclean House enables me to stay close to the library and college, making it worthwhile to spend time in Melbourne on occasions and connect with faculty and peers. Erlinda (Pilgrim’s Registrar) is wonderfully supportive and being the rep on academic committee has given me opportunity to connect with faculty in other often serendipitous ways. The online collections of the Dalton McCaughey Library (DML) and University Library Hub are excellent assets and the DML staff are really helpful in tracking down resources and posting them to me as needed.

Adrian: That sounds great. Thanks for chatting to us and all the best with your research!

As the HDR research representative on the Pilgrim College Academic Committee, Liz would like to hear from you if you think there is anything the college can do to improve the student experience. Or have any other issues you would like her to bring to the attention of the College. You can connect with Liz on her website, Vision and Action. https://visionandaction.com.au/